Hand operated article lifting and moving device



May 8, 1956 W. W. KIRK HAND OPERATED ARTICLE LIFTING AND MOVING DEVICE Filed Fab.

FIG.3.

s z l w o INVENTOR WILLIAM W. KIRK ATTORNEY HAND OPERATED ARTICLE LIFTI NG AND I MOVING DEVICE v 7 William W. Kirk, Weirton, W. Va.

' Application February 7, 1952, Serial No. 270,476

7 Claims. (Cl. 280-4728) This invention relates to article handling apparatus and more particularly to a hand operated article lifting and moving device.

United States Patent ,Hand operated article lifting and moving devices pro- I vided heretofore, including devices of the type specifically designed for moving articles of furniture, are of heavy and bulky construction and are not readily operated by an individual possessing a relatively low order of physical strength. 'Moreover, these prior devices are not capable of easy manipulation and operation since they do not provide a material mechanical advantage for reducing the physical efiort required for lifting an article as well as for moving the article to a new location.

. -It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel article lifting and moving device requiring only a relatively small degree of physical effort for lifting andmoving heavy, bulky articles.

, Another object is to, provide an article lifting and vide an article lifting and moving. device designed specifically for lifting and moving articles spaced from the floor by relatively short supporting legs, as in the case of articles of furniture such as upholstered chairs and couches. i

Still another object is to provide anarticle lifting and moving device of the above character including a novel arrangement for lifting the article to a position with all legs spacedfrom the floor a substantially equal amount or in other .words, not substantially out of level and-for moving the article when so lifted.

Still another object is to provide a novel article lifting and moving device of the foregoing character including anarrangement in which the rear legs, i. e., the legs of the article most removed from the operator, are first brought to rest upon the floor when the article is being set down. Other objects and features of the present invention will appear more fully from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawing which discloses one form of the invention. It is to beexpressly understood that the drawing is designed for purposes of illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference for the latter purpose being bad to the appended claims.

In the drawing, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:

.Fig'. 1 is an isometric view of a hand operated article lifting and moving device constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation illustrating a portion of thedevice in greater detail, and

2,744,762 Patented May 8, 1956 Fig. 3 is an enlarged view, partially in section, showing another portion of the device in greater detail.

With reference more particularly to the drawing, an article lifting and moving device embodying the principles of the present invention is disclosed therein including a body portion 10 and an article lifting portion 11 mounted for relative rotational movement such as on an axle 12 supporting wheels 13 and 14. The body portion 10'may be constructed from two members 15 and 16 of tubular stock, preferably fabricated from magnesium, aluminum alloys or light gauge steel, joined together by welding, brazing or any other suitable means, throughout a greater portion of their length. Hand engaging elements 17 and 18 may be formed by bending the upper ends of the tubular members 15 and 16 at right angles. The lower ends of the tubular members 15 and 16 include parallel spaced tubular members 19 and 20 connected to the joined portions through'angularly disposed tubular sections '21 and 22. The ends of the parallel spaced tubular members 19 and 20 curve upwardly away from the hand engaging elements 17 and 18 and support a transverse tubular member 23. The body portion 10 may be rotatably mounted on the axle 12 at points on the parallel spaced tubular members 19 and 20'equally displaced from the transverse-member 23. For this purpose a hollow tubular member 24 may be secured to corresponding points on the spaced parallel tubular members 19 and 20. The opening in the tubular member 24 is slightly greater than the outside diameter of the axle 12 for receiving the axle and providing a good bearing surface therebetween, and its length may correspond to the desired spacing between the'wheels 13 and 14 with its ends functioning as stop means for gauging the wheels.

' The article lifting portion 11 is also constructed of tubular stock, preferably of the type employed in fabricating the body portion. In the disclosed form, the article lifting portion includes a pair of tubular members joined by a transverse connecting member 26. The tubular members are bent to provide a pair of parallel coplanar article supporting sections or lift forks 27 and 28 and a pair of lift arms 29 and 30 connected to respective article supporting sections through offset connecting sections 31 and 32. The lift arms 29 and 30 are spaced by the transverse connnecting member 26 to lie adjacent the outside surfaces of the wheels 13 and 14, respectively, and the ends of the axle 12 project outwardly beyond the wheels for contiguous relation with respective ends of the lift arms. The tubular transverse member 23 also'projects' outwardly beyond the outer periphery of the wheels 13 and 14 to provide a support and actuating means for the article lifting portion 11 in a manner that will be more fully explained below.

more clearly in Fig. 3 of the drawing, the looped end 35 of the eye-bolt 33 is provided with an opening 36 for receiving the axle 12 in pivotal relation. The bolt portion 37 of the eye-bolt 33 is threaded throughout its entire length and is adapted to pass through an opening 38 provided in the lift arm--29. A sleeve 39 is preferably inserted in the arms 29 to form the opening 38 and provide a continuous surface for easy relative movement between the arm 29 and the threaded bolt 37. A washer 40 may be positioned at the end of the bolt portion 37 near the looped end 35 to provide a support for the lift arm 29..

For a purpose that will appear more fully below, the bolt portion 37 is of a length a number of times greater than the thickness of the lift arm 29 is measured along the opening 38 parallel to the bolt portion 37, and a wing nut 41 is provided for cooperation with the threads on the bolt portion to determine the degree of permissible relative sliding movement or loose coupling between the life arm 29 and the bolt portion 37. The eye-bolt 34 associated with'the end of the axle 12. projecting beyond the wheel 14 and the lift arm 3!) is constructed in a similar manner and includes a looped end 4-2 provided with an opening 43 for receiving the axle 12, an elongated threaded bolt portion 44 which is adapted to pass through a'sleeved opening in the lift arm 30, a washer 45 for supporting the lift arm and a wing nut 46.

The olfset connecting sections 31 and 32 of the article supporting portion 11 are of a magnitude approximating the radius of the wheels 13 and 14. With this construction 'the article supporting sections 27 and '28 will lie upon or be in close adjacent relation with the surface supporting the wheels 13 and 14 when the lift arms 29 and 30-are resting upon their respective supporting washers 40-and 45. Also, the length of the lift arms, that is the distance between the eye-bolts and respective offset connecting sections, is no less than the distance between the axle and the tubular transverse member 23. As mentioned above, the transverse member 23 projects outwardly beyond the lift arms 29 and 30 so that the article lifting portion 11 rests upon and may be actuated by the tubular transverse member 23 in a'manner described more fully below.

When it is desired to move an article of the type slightly spaced from the floor surface by its supporting legs, such as an article of furniture, the device is rolled into position relative to the article of furniture with the/ article supporting sections 27 and 28 extending beneath the article .from its front to its rear between its supporting legs. The handle engaging elements 17 and 18 are then pushed downwardly to rotate the body portion about the axle 12' in the direction to move the transverse member 23 upwardly into an actuating position against the article lifting portion 11. The initial upward force applied by the transverse member 23 will move the article lifting portion 11 upwardly from the floor, with the lift arms 29 and 30 sliding relative to their respective eyebolts, until the article supporting sections 27 and 28 contact the underside of the article of furniture. Continued downward movement of the handle engaging elements 17 and 18 and resulting upward movement of the transverse member 23 will cause the article lifting portion 11 to pivot about the transverse member 23, with the lift arms .29 and 30 continuing to slide upwardly on their respective eye-bolts. This action, as shown in Fig. 2, inclines the article supporting sections downwardly away from the body portion. Likewise, the article of furniture will be similarly inclined, with its front legs, i. e., the legs nearest the axle, raised above the floor. After the lift arms 29 and 30 are moved upwardly into contact with the wing nuts, relative rotation between the body portion and the article lifting portion stopsand further downward movement of the body portion 10 will rotate the device as a unit about the axle 12 to position the article lifting portion 11 horizontally or slightly inclined toward the axle. In either position the front legs of the article of furniture will be spaced from the floor a distance determined by the adjustment of the wing nuts and the device may be easily rolled over the floor with the body portion 10 at a convenient angle with respect to the body of the user.

The degree of inclination of the article of furniture awayfrorn the body portion, and hence the spacing between the front legs and the floor independent of unitary rotation of the device about the axle, will depend upon the normal spacing between the underside of the :article of furniture and the floor and upon the amount of allowable slidable movement between the eye-bolts and the lift arms as determined by the adjustment of the wing nuts. The wing nuts are therefore adjusted according to the height of the legs of the article of furniture. The adjustment is made to provide an adequate elevation of the front legs so that the article of furniture may be easily moved without the possibility of contact between the front legs and the floor. Also, the wing nuts are adjusted so that the body portion 10 will occupy a convenient and efficient position for lifting the article of furniture and for pushing the device to move the article of furniture. It is to be expressly understood that the provision of means for initially tilting the article lifting portion ll downwardly away from the user positions the front legs of the article of furniture a distance above the floor which is independent of the degree of rotation of the device about the axle or of the radial distance of the legs from the axle.

When it is desired to position the article of furniture at a new location the body portion 10 is moved upwardly. The upward movement of the body portion will rotate the entire device about the axle 12 eventually moving the article lifting portion 11 to the position shown in full lines of Fig. 2 in which position the rear legs of the article of furniture, i. e., the legs further removed from the axle 12, are more closely positioned with respect to thefioor. As the upward movement of the body portion continues, the rear legs will first contact the floor and the lift arms will move downwardly on the eye-bolts with continued upward movement of the body portion to eventually lower the front legs on the floor. Theprovisions for lowering the article of furniture first on its rear legs aids in positioning the article of furniture since its exact location may be more easily ascertained.

The required downward movement of the 'body'portion 10 for initially inclining the article lifting portion positions the hand engaging elements 17 and 18 for-more efficien't and convenient use in actually lifting and moving the article of furniture. This advantageous result is obtained since a greater mechanical'advantage is provided for actually lifting the article of furniture when the body portion is in a lower position and since the loadmay be more easily balanced on the wheels when the device .is rolled from one place to another. This feature together with the provisions for setting the rear legs down first prevents the wheels from rotating toward the user'during unloading operations. I

As mentioned above, the present invention provides a hand operated article lifting and moving device of the collapsible type. From Fig. 1 it is apparent thatthebody portion 10 and the article lifting portion 11 may be r0- tated about the axle 12 toward each other until the transverse connecting member 26 of the article lifting portion 11 contacts the tubularsections 21 and.22'of the body portion 10. When thus folded the device constitutes a compact arrangement which may beeasily rolled from one place to another on the supporting wheels 13 and .14.

There is then provided by the present invention anovel hand operated article lifting andmoving device of vthe collapsible type. The device .is light weight and of simple design but rugged construction, being fabricated from tubular stock preferably of strong, lightweight :alloys. Devices of the character provided by thepresent invention are capable of. moving comparatively large articles, such'as large upholstered furniture pieces, witha minimum degree of ,physical effort, especially due tothe provision of an arrangement for pre-tilting the article to be lifted away from the user before the actual lifting operation.

takes place.

Although only one form of the invention hasbeen shown and described above, it is to be expressly understood that various changes'and substitutions may be made therein without departing-from the=spirit of the invention as well understood by those skilled in theart. For'example, other arrangements may be provided'for mounting the body-portionand the article-lifting-.portionifor relative rotational movement, as well as for supporting the wheels. Reference therefore will be had to the appended claims for a'definition of the limits of the invention. iWhat is claimed is: I l. A hand operated article lifting and moving device comprising a body portion including a hand engaging element at its upper end,-an article lifting portion, a movable support, pivotal means for connecting on the movable support for relative rotational movement the body portiohpadjacentthe lower end of'the body portion and the article liftingfportionadjacentl one end of the articlelliftingportion, articlelifting portion actuating mean'scarried by the body portion at a point on the body portion displaced from the pivotal means in a direction awayfrom the hand engaging element for contacting an intermediate part of the article lifting portion upon movement of the hand engaging portion in one direction, the article lifting portion including an ofiset portion in the region of the actuating means, the pivotal means including a loose coupling connection between the body portion and a region on the article lifting portion displaced from the offset portion in a direction toward the hand engaging element for limiting the relative rotational movement between the body portion and the article lifting portion upon further movement of the hand engaging element in the one direction, the loose connection including link means rotatably mounted on the movable support and means provided on the article lifting portion for slidably supporting the article lifting portion on the link means.

2. A hand operated article lifting and moving device comprising a body portion including a hand engaging element at its upper end, an article lifting portion, a wheel carrying axle, body portion connecting means for mounting the body portion on the axle at a point adjacent the lower end of the body portion, article lifting portion connecting means for mounting one end of the article lifting portion on the axle, at least one of the connecting means including a rotatable connection, article lifting portion engaging means carried by the body portion at a point on the body portion displaced from the connecting means in a direction away from the article engaging element for contacting an intermediate point on the article lifting portion upon movement of the hand engaging element in one direction, and the article lifting portion connecting means including an adjustable loose coupling means connected to the body portion and to the article lifting portion at a point on the article lifting portion displaced from the actuating means in a direction toward the hand engaging element for controlling the degree of relative movement between the body portion and the article lifting portion upon further movement of the hand engaging element in the one direction, the adjustable loose coupling means including link means rotatably mounted on the axle and means provided on the article lifting portion for slidably supporting the article lifting portion on the link means.

3. A hand operated article lifting and moving device comprising a body portion including a hand engaging portion at one end and a pair of spaced members at its lower end, a wheel carrying axle, means for mounting the spaced members on the axle at intermediate points on the spaced members, a pair of article lift arms, connecting means for mounting the lift arms on the axle, and lift arm supporting means carried by the spaced members at points on the spaced members displaced from the axle in a direction away from the hand engaging portion, each of the lift arms including an intermediate offset portion in the region of the lift arm supporting means, and the connecting means including means rotatably mounting the lift arms relative to the body portion and a slidable connection between the lift arms and the axle, said rotatable means comprising link members rotatably mounted on the axle and said slidable connection comprising means for slidably supporting the lift arms on the link members.

4.,QA hand operated article lifting and'moving device comprising a handle including ahand engaging portion atone end and a pair of spaced members at its'lower end, an axle, means for rotatablyymounting the spaced members on the axle at intermediate points on the spaced members with the ends of the axle projecting outwardly beyondjthe spaced members, a wheel rotatably mounted on eachiof the projectingends of the, axle, a pair of article lifter-ms, a pair of eye-bolts each-,including-a. threaded portion and a looped end having an opening for receiving the axle, the looped ends of each of the eye-bolts being placed over one end of the axle adjacent the outer surface of a wheel and each of the lift arms including an opening for receiving the threaded portion of a corresponding eye bolt, adjustable means on the threaded portions, a transverse member for supporting the lift arms connected to the pair of spaced members at points on the spaced members displaced from the axle in a direction away from the hand engaging portion of the handle, each of the lift arms including an intermediate offset portion and each of the offset portions being located at points on the lift arms displaced from the axle a distance corresponding to the displacement of the transverse members from the axle.

5; A hand operated article lifting and moving device comprising a handle member including a hand engaging portion at one end and a pair of spaced parallel members at its lower end, an axle, a pair of wheels rotatably mounted on the axle, bearing means for rotatably mounting the spaced parallel members relative to the' axle between the wheels at intermediate points on the spaced parallel members, an article lifting member including a pair of spaced parallel arms each having an offset portion, a pair of link members, means rotatably mounting each of the link members on the axle adjacent a side surface of a wheel, a slidable connection between each of the link members and one of the lift arms, means for adjusting the degree of the slidable connection, and means carried by the spaced parallel members for contacting the article lifting member upon rotation of the handle member relative to the article lifting member.

6. A hand operated article lifting and moving device comprising a body portion including a hand engaging portion at its upper end and a pair of spaced members at its lower end, an axle, connecting means for mounting the spaced members on the axle at intermediate points on the spaced members, wheels carried by the axle outside the spaced members, a pair of lift arms, a transverse member for supporting the lift arms connected to the pair of spaced members at points on the spaced members displaced from the axle in a direction away from the hand engaging portion of the body portion, each of the lift arms including an intermediate offset portion of the magnitude of the order of the radius of the wheels and each of the oflset portions being displaced from the axle a distance corresponding to the displacement of the transverse member from the axle, eye-bolts rotatably mounted on the axle outside the wheels, means for slidably mounting each of the lift arms on a corresponding one of the eye-bolts, and threaded nut means on the eye-bolts for securing the lift arms on the eye-bolts and determining the degree of relative sliding motion between the. lift arms and the eye-bolts.

7. A hand operated article lifting and moving device comprising a handle portion including a pair of spaced tubular members at its lower end, a transverse tubular member secured to the ends of the spaced members, a wheel carrying axle, a lift portion including a pair of tubular lift bars and a pair of tubular lift arms, means 'oining one end of the lift arms to one end of respective lift bars the last-named means including an offset portion, means rotatably mounting the handle portion on the axle at points on the spaced members removed from the transverse member, and means mounting the other ends of the lift arms to spaced points on the axle, the lastnamed means including a pair of boltseach including a threaded'iportion, meansrotatably mounting the bolts on the axle, an opening in each of the lift arms receiving the threaded-portion of abolt and means for retaining the lift armsontherespe'c'tive bolts, the bolts having-a length 'greate rthan the dimension of the lift arms through which the bolts pass, the transverse member being displaced from the axis of the axle a distance corresponding to the-displacement of the 'one end of the lift arms from the'axis of the axle. V

UNITED STATES PATENTS More Sept. 5, 1922 More Mar. 27, 1923 Neilsen Sept .,6, 1949 Jackson 'Oct. 4, 1949 Davis May 22, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS I Germany Nov. 10, 1919 Germany Dec. 23, 1929 Great Britain Dec. 19, 1945 

